It's all in the eye

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 550.

In small groups discuss your answers to these questions by using as many of the ways of giving opinions and agreeing and disagreeing as you can.

Guinea pigs

Read the text about human 'guinea pigs' and on your own, answer the questions in exercise 2 below.

In some clinics in London, people can agree to be 'guinea pigs' for medical experiments; they stay in hospitals like luxury hotels and earn a lot of money if they are prepared to take the medicines the doctors give them. In one place which experiments with new medical equipment, they pay people £10,000 if they agree to have toes cut off then sewn back on again!

1. Would you agree to do this?

2. How much money would you want for the 'toe experiment?

3. In some countries, prisoners serving long sentences can get out of prison sooner if they agree to take part in medical experiments. What do you think of this?

& 16. Read the text quickly and find out the connection between an owl and medicine.

Iridology is the study of the eye's iris, used to diagnose someone's state of health and warn patients of potential problems. The underlying theory is that the entire body is reflected in the iris. Iridology is for diagnosis only and not for treatment. However, many indologists are practising homeopaths, herbalists or acupunctunsts.The study of the iris not only indicates current health, but identifies potential weaknesses, many of which we inherit from our parents. By identifying a condition before it becomes a problem, people can minimize it or avoid it through changes to diet and lifestyle. Iridology has a long history. It was practised in Ancient Egypt, and Hippocrates mentions it, too. The Hungarian, Dr Ignatz von Peczely (1822-1911) is the founder of iridology as a modern science. When he was a boy, he accidentally broke the leg of his pet owl and noticed a dark mark appear in the bird's eye. As the leg healed, the mark disappeared. When von Peczely became a doctor; he developed a map showing the relationship of different parts of the body to the iris.

Iridology works because the iris records everything that has happened to the body since the age of six. It also carries genetic information which indicates future problems. The colour of the iris also provides the practitioner with vital information.